PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT TURMERIC CULTIVARS IN DERA ISMAIL KHAN

Three experiments were conducted at three different localities of Dera Ismail Khan, to evaluate the performance of turmeric cultivars including Duggirala, Zedory and Krishna at Dera Ismail Khan in 2008-09. The data were taken on days to sprout, plant height (cm), number of leaves plant^-1, number of tillers plant^-1, leaf length (cm), leaf width (cm), number of fingers plant^-1, finger length (cm), finger width (cm), finger weight plant^-1 (g) and finger weight per plot^-1 (g). The results showed the supremacy of Krishna over the other two cultivars in all the three localities, as Krishna took significantly least number of days (44.67, 46.00 and 48.33) to sprouting, maximum plant height (78.54, 73.64 and 75.43 cm), leaves per plant (13.74, 12.97 and 13.73), leaf width (8.733, 7.30 and 7.80 cm), maximum finger per plant (31.43, 54.44 37.00) in all the three localities. On the basis of good performance Krishna is recommended as a promising turmeric cultivar for general cultivation in Dera Ismail Khan.